Dollar Holding Gains After Strong Private Sector Employment Growth

The dollar is up against its major European rivals Wednesday afternoon, but is down slightly against the Japanese Yen. The buck recovered from early weakness following the release of the better than expected private sector employment report. The data has investors feeling upbeat ahead of Friday's jobs report.

Employment in the U.S. private sector increased by slightly more than expected in the month of November, payroll processor ADP revealed in a report released on Wednesday.

ADP said private sector employment climbed by 190,000 jobs in November after surging up by 235,000 jobs in October. Economists had expected an increase of about 185,000 jobs.

Labor productivity in the U.S. saw a notable increase in the third quarter, according to a revised report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday.

The report said labor productivity jumped by 3.0 percent in the third quarter, unchanged from the preliminary estimate. Economists had expected the increase in productivity to be upwardly revised to 3.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said unit labor costs fell by a revised 0.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the previously reported 0.5 percent increase. Costs had been expected to rise by a revised 0.2 percent.

The dollar has risen to around $1.1790 against the Euro Wednesday afternoon, from an early low of $1.1847.

Germany's factory orders increased unexpectedly in October helped by demand from domestic market and non-euro area economies.

New orders in manufacturing climbed 0.5 percent month-on-month in October, but slower than the revised 1.2 percent rise in September, figures from Destatis revealed Wednesday. Orders were forecast to fall 0.2 percent.

Germany's construction activity expanded at the weakest pace in ten months in November, survey data from IHS Markit showed Wednesday. The headline Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 53.1 in November from 53.3 in October.

The buck has climbed to around $1.3375 against the pound sterling this afternoon, from an early low of $1.3435.

The greenback reached a high of Y112.533 against the Japanese Yen Wednesday, but has since eased back to around Y112.175.